Needle-operating cam for knitting-machines



(No Model.)

F. WILOOMB.

NEEDLE OPERATING 0AM FOR KNITTING MAGHINES.

No. 350,792. Patented Oct. 12, 1886.

Ii!v JWI a' fiv.

Attorney UNITED STATES PATENT UEETCE.

FRANK \VILCOMB, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

NEEDLE-OPERATING C'AM FOR KNITTING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 350,792, dated October 12, 1886.

Application filed December 30, 1885. Serial No. 187.118. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK YViLeoMB, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Fran cisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Needle Operating Cams for Knitting-Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact de scription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to devices for operat ing theneedles of knitting-1nachiucs.

It has been found necessary, in order to repair imperfections in the fabric, or for other reasons during the knitting, at times to push the fabric backward on the needle to enable the stitches to be removed from certain needles of the series; and it is the object of my i11- vention to afford means whereby the series of needles can be operated forward or backward simultaneously, in order to provide for repairing an iniperfectportion of the fabric, removing a portion of the stitches from the needles, and for narrowing or widening the fabric, and whereby to return the needles to their normal position without diffieulty or loss of time.

Figure 1 represents a plan view of my devices for operating needles on a straight-knitting machine. Fig. 2 represents the under side of the slidebar L with all the parts dc tached. Fig. 3 represents separately the needle or stitch cams A B C attached to a plate, D. Fig. 4 represents a broken section and end "iew of one of the elongated grooved cams E E, with enlarged triangular months or openings on n. Fig. 5 represents a cross-section of my device, showing the slide-bar L, cam E, slide-cam F, cap-pieces H K, and a needle, 71, held in the groox'c 1 of the cam E. Fig. 6 represents the slide-cam F.

My invention comprises a slide-bar, L, having needlecams A B 0, arranged in the usual manner for knitting, but with enlarged triangular months or openings 0 s on each side to guide the needle-shanks into the groove X X between the cams A B O.

E E are longitudinal grooved cams extending lengthwise of the slide'bar L, and having a parallel. forward and backward movement across the path of the needles, for the purpose of projecting the needles in the groove forward or backward simultaneously, and having the mouth of the grooves g g, adjoining the needle-cams, enlarged and triangular in shape, as at m a, Figs. 1 and 4,1"01' the purpose of catching and directing the needleshanks into the grooves g g of the cams E E as they pass out of the month 0 s of thcgroove X X of the fixed needle-cams A B Gin the regular process of knitting. These longitudinal grooved cams serve to hold the needles stationary or in line just before their movement, either forward or backward, to make the loops or stitches when passing through the grooves between the needle-cams.

The months or openings at a in the 1ongitudinal grooved cams E E and the months or openings 0 s in the needle-cams A B G are suitably shaped and arranged to catch and The cams E E are held to the slidebarLby the cap-plates G H J K. The sliding cam F moves in the groove in the sl ide-bar, and screws 25 are inserted in the cams EE. The heads of these screws (shown in Fig. 4) move in the transverse slots a in the slide-bar L, and the shanks are in the inclined slots 12 in the sliding cam F, so that the movement endwise of the cam F gives movement to the cams E E at right angles to the path of F. By the longitudinal movement, therefore, of the bar F the needles are simultaneously moved either forward or backward, and when the bar is stationary it holds the cams in place. The needles are held from movement to the front or rear when ordinary plain knitting is being done, and they perform their usual office while passing through the grooves between the stitch-cams in the on dinary manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a knitting-machine, with the stitch-cams having enlarged mouths, of the longitudinal cams E E, having straight grooves, asshown, also having enlarged mouths, and mechanism for operating the cams E E,

, whereby the needles may be moved forward larged mouths m nadjoining themouth's of the or backward simultaneously, substantially as grooves X X, all substantially as described. [0

described. In testimony whereof I affix my signature 2. The combination, with a slide-bar, L, of in presence of two witnesses. 5 the stitch-cams A B 0, having grooves X'X, FRANK WILCOMB.

formed with enlarged months 0, the plate D, Witnesses: the slide-cam F, and the cap-pieces, and the E. H. THARP,

longitudinal grooved cams E E, having en- GEO. R. W'ILsON. 

